Continuum Final Chapter
by honor2hermes
Summary: The last installment, tell me what you think!


Continum Part 4Jordan Owens

The world was definitely not right. For a few hours Mal swam through a deep blackness, like the void Serenity crossed, but the he started to right himself. He knew that sleep wasn't quite what it was, but it wasn't total unconsciousness either. His head felt light and airy, as if he had had a full night's sleep. He tried to stand up, but it turned out to be a huge mistake. He drank some water. Tried to get it together. Tsien sha, how many drinks had Jayne forced him to take?

He woke up again, having drifted off. He fished around for a second and his hand found his new gadget, a virtual reality landscape projector. He fitted it onto his head and flipped the switch, immediately becoming surrounded by the crashing waves of a tropical beach. The sunset was as beautiful as he could remember, from the one time he had visited the beach on Shadow. The palms were waving in the slight breeze, and there was even a slight sound of wildlife emanating from the foliage behind him.

His thoughts closed in on him as he studied the scene. It was worth every penny, this device. He had bought it in secret so none of the crew would realize his homesickness. The world of his birth seemed lost now, covered over with Alliance patrols and fortresses. As he gazed into the depths of the electronic wonderland before him, he thought about Inara. What she would think of Zoe's notion of them together. She would smile one of those Companion smiles and say, "Yes, that is very interesting." Then she would go back to the shuttle and give herself away to the highest bidder.

No, he thought. No point in getting emotional. She certainly won't.

Meanwhile, Inara was acting very emotional. She had a feeling Kaylee was lying to her since the mechanic had told her about Jayne, but now she was sure. Kaylee had purchased endless amounts of ribbon from a vendor on the last planet they visited, and a carton of candles. The two of them spent two hours putting them around the room, but Inara wasn't buying the ruse. She suspected the plot, even if she hadn't figured it all out.

Kaylee, while lighting the last of the candles, looked over at Inara, "You think this is gonna work?"

Inara smiled, "Yes, Kaylee," she would play along, simply because she was interested in what kind of prank the younger woman was playing, "It may not work the way you think it will, but it will work out in the end." She fully expected the crew to burst out at any moment with a surprise of some sort, but it remained still, the candles burning away merrily.

"Would you have a drink before Jayne comes. I feel nervous." Kaylee pulled a bottle of her engine-fermented wine from the cabinet.

"Oh. I don't know, it's getting late, and I.." Kaylee cut her off before she could finish.

"Nonsense, we're both grown-ups. We can stay up as long as we like." She poured two cups of wine, and the two began gossiping. Inara felt quite at home, realizing that after their efforts, the dining area looked quite like her shuttle.

"Kaylee, I hope you know what you're getting into."

She received a very guilty look from Kaylee.

Kaylee smiled anxiously, a hopeful expression dawning on her young features that minded Inara of the princesses of Sihnon that she had trained in the arts of the courtesan.

"You shouldn't feel obligated to satisfy me, Kaylee. I helped you with this because it was fun, not because I wanted to see you with Jayne." She spoke more plainly than she meant to, but Kaylee was like a sister to her.

"Inara, I don't want to go through with it."

Inara smiled. She had been expecting this. "It's okay, you don't have to if you don't want to."

Kaylee smiled back at her, "Will you not tell noone? Like a secret tween us girls?"

"Of course. I would never betray your trust." Inara was truthful about that, she was very good at keeping secrets.

Kaylee shined as she pulled a swig from her tin cup, "'Nara, I think I'd like to show you something."

Inara wasn't sure what Kaylee meant, "Sure, where is it?"

"I got a new dress, and I'd love it if you could take it in for me."

Inara practically laughed out loud, "Of course, go put it on."

"You stay right there, okay? I'll be right back," Kaylee darted out of the room, and Inara chuckled softly. She was expecting some kind of heartbreak for someone, but it appeared that she had been a little paranoid. She sipped her wine, looking around the room at the decorations. It really looked amazing, the lights shining through a veritable forest of colored ribbons hanging from the ceiling. All the candles burned in small braziers, providing more light that softened the features of the otherwise drab common area. Even the table looked magnificent, covered in a white cloth and dressed as if for a dinner for two. It all made her think of her home, and she even reminisced about some of her favorite memories.

She was surprised not to see Kaylee return, but she hardly noticed, she was so comfortable.

Mal was not comfortable at all. His mind had just returned to normal, and he was having a shave. That always seemed to work, to calm him down. But things just seemed...ominous. Like he was in a fight or something. He had no explanation for it, so he ignored it. He was rinsing his face when he heard Wash on the communicator.

"Cap'n, you better get to the engine room now."

He didn't question Wash, he just toweled his face and went up the ladder, doing his suspenders up at the same time.

Wash laughed incessantly as soon as he closed the channel. Zoe had a little chuckle as well.

"You think he'll be mad at us?" Wash didn't care either way, this was a prank that was definitely worth a few repercussions.

"He better not be," Zoe seemed offended at the thought, "We're just doing what he would, but can't. That's what friends are for, dear."

"Oh yeah, I think I've heard that before, but you know me, ZI don't believe everything I hear."

Kaylee was waiting quietly at the door to the common area, listening. She could hear the soft sounds of Inara breathing, and maybe...there it was! Mal's bootsteps made a very identifiable sound, and she knew it was time. She closed and locked the hatch, watching through the hatch as Inara rose, immediately noticing and reacting, as Zoe had suspected.

Then the lights went out, replaced by the soft glow of the candles in their braziers. It was enough to see, but not across the entirety of the room. Mal could be heard entering the room and exclaiming, "Kaylee, what did you do to my ship?"

Inara stood up, not because the hatch closed, but because she also knew the sound of those boots all to well. She had no intention of being seen tonight by any but Kaylee. She was in her nightgown and a robe, her hair down and...no, she wouldn't think that way. Who cares if he sees her?

He walked in, yelling something to Kaylee, who could barely be seen on the other side of the door for a moment, but the she retreated to the engine room. Inara turned, just in time to see Mal approach into the view of the nearest candle. He was beautiful, as she always thought.

Mal was rooted in place when he noticed her. She was standing, suffused in the soft glow of about a hundred candles that had somehow transported themselves into the dining room. The table looked like a fancy restaurant and there were streamers hanging around all over the gorramn place, but he only noticed her, looking at him with the same expression he was sure he had on his face. He was so confused he couldn't even think of any smartass comments. He realized slightly, in the back of his mind, that this must have been some part of that conspiracy. But he couldn't even look away when he heard the door he had come through shut and lock behind him. He just stared at her. She just stared back, her lips moving slightly as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't.

The two of them approached each other a few steps, both finding their voices simultaneously.

"Mal, what's wrong..."

"Inara, what did you..."

They lapsed into silence, now both turning in step to look at the doors, both locked from the outside. Mal grinned a little as he looked back, bu Inara had found her poise by then.

She stood up straight and addressed him officially, "Good evening, Captain. Why are we locked in here?"

Mal's smile disappeared. He had assumed it was a prank, or she was going to rag on him about some thing or another, but he wasn't prepared for this. "Uh, I'm as lost as you. I think they all just took over my ship, but I'm not sure."

Inara turned away, trying to hide her flushed cheeks. She heard him as if through a comm unit, as if he was somewhere else.

He said, "You recall, when you told me you were leaving..." His mind had lost control, and was just listening in terror as he spilled his guts. It wasn't as if he decided to tell her. He just did, like a reflex, "I never got to finish."

She looked at him now, a fire lighting inside her. He would tell her he loved her, and she would turn him away, as she had done so many times before, when her talents had rendered a client unable to appreciate the reality of the verse. Mal continued, looking directly into her eyes as he did.

"Inara, I have to tell you that I love you, even though I know you already know. I realize that we can never be together, and that you're leaving because I crossed that line. I know I'll never see you again, and that you'll probably think less of me, but I want you to know. From me, plain and simple."

Inara opened her mouth, her practiced routine ready and easy to say, but then something happened she couldn't explain. "Mal, I love you too." Why did she say that? Was it true? "I haven't had a client in months, because I can't bear to make you sad." His face turned cautious, like a bear surrounded by traps coming from every direction. "I know you wont believe me, and that you can never respect me as a woman, but I want to make it clear that I have never known the feeling ZI have when I'm with you."

Mal sputtered a bit, and Inara took a step backwards. Neither of them had planned to say any of what they said, but it had happened. Now the rational minds of the two had to come to terms with it.

Both attempted to speak, but instead rushed each other and caught in an almost violent embrace, their lips clawing for one another to find what they had wanted for so long. They kissed like they were arguing, fighting for position and domination. If either of them could have looked, they would have seen Kaylee at one window, and River at the other, both girls smiling in pleasure at the fufillment of the plan. It had worked.

River watched intently as the Captain showed the Companion a thing or two about real kissing, and she realized that the fruition of the plan had been inevitable. 'Rational minds are cast out for the primal ones, cast into a river and wanted no more. They flow away, leaving behind something new. A stone, once rough and worn, now smooth and perfect in it's beauty as it has been joined by the water.'

Her thoughts made her happy, something that had not happened in a while. She danced away down the deckplates, daydreaming about vermillion sunrises and ancient warriors who could ride away into them without a care.


End file.
